A bar taker breaks down the mechanics.

Day One Down, Feels Like Two :

Anyway, the test. In all the stuff I read beforehand, from various sites on the web, and in everything people told me, nobody really said what the exam is actually like, down to the nitty-gritty details. So I thought it might be helpful for some people to explain how it all goes down.

Other locations may be a little different. (E.g., in Los Angeles this morning there was an earthquake—a friend sent me a text message and said chandeliers were swinging and people were screaming during the third essay question). Here’s how it went down in San Mateo, July 2008.

It's a good run-down of the process. It's pretty much how it worked for us at the Oakland Convention Center, other than our absence of a huge parking lot; most people here are staying at the Marriott or across the street (where I am with hideous Internet service) at the Courtyard.

Others were smart and scoped the place out ahead of time. I just read the instructions and figured I'd figure it out.

The person next to me on my right hurt her back last week, so she's constantly adjusting herself. I've found the chair I'm on is (surprisingly) comfortable for about 2 hours, after which time I crush the cushion under my mass and my tailbone suffers and I start shifting.

And at the rate we're going, we're going to spend almost 3 hours just listening to instructions and announcements over the three days.

Thanks for the link. Most people here in San Mateo are staying at the Marriott, too. That was a pretty fun experience in itself, coming in on Monday, getting situated, then heading down to the lobby to relax and watch people check in, lugging piles of BAR/BRI books. I wished a few people good luck and thought about doing something mean like saying, "Quick! What are all the duties of a trustee!" But I didn't.

I hadn't thought about it yet, but your estimate of three hours listening to instructions sounds about right. In some ways, though, it's nice. I noticed yesterday when I came back from lunch and the lady started reading her script and saying the same things again, it was kind of comforting, like walking into a Starbucks in a strange city and seeing the same merchandise they have at the one down the street from your house.

Good luck on the next two days.